How Did The British Empire Affect Society

During its peak years, the British Empire was one of the largest empires that the world had ever witnessed. Its sheer power and influence was known to shape the world in many ways and has left a lasting impact in many of its former colonies that included the likes of India, America and Hong Kong (Denman 1996). For most parts, it cannot be denied that the British Empire played a vital part in making history as it aims to play a leading role in shaping the modern day society. The integration of British culture and philosophy in many of the Commonwealth countries around the globe shows that the once great empire has influenced and shaped the world as we see today. Therefore, what approach did the British Empire take in maintaining their status
as a world power? After the end of World War Two, Britain made a few attempts to join the European Economic Community. After two failed attempts dating back to 1961 and 1963, Britain finally succeeded in joining the EEC in 1973 under the premiership of Edward Heath. It can also be noted that the continued efforts to become a member of the EEC were driven by various political reason (George 1994). This leads on to the question; why did Britain decide to apply to join the EEC in the 1960s?

First and foremost, the European Economic Community – commonly abbreviated as EEC; can be roughly defined as an organization of nations that was established in 1957 with the aim to generate economic cooperation in a common market among the nations of Western Europe (George 1992). Officially established in 1958, its founding nations included the likes of Belgium, France, Italy, The Netherlands, West Germany and Luxembourg (Wilkes 1997). These countries worked together hand in hand towards the goal of a unified Europe. It was not until 1969 that Britain made its first formal application to join the EEC. Subsequently, in the year 1967, Britain made another attempt to join the EEC; however its application was once again denied. It was not till 1973 that the government headed by Edward Heath succeeded in its application. It is worth noting that this continued effort to join the EEC despite having two failed attempts was not merely an act of desperation but it was an ambitious one which Britain saw many potential in (Denman 1996). For example, Britain wanted to re-emerge and re-establish itself as a world power after switching from empire to a commonwealth. When India gained its independence in 1947, this was a clear sign that Britain was losing its imperial power on its former colonies (George 1994). By the time Macmillan made his first application to join the EEC in 1961, former colonies of Britain such as Cyprus and Ghana had already become independent nations (Young 1993). As a result of this, Macmillan realised that Britain was no longer an imperial world power and he needed to look at other options in helping Britain retain its status and generic economic growth (Parr 2005).

Next, Macmillan brought forward the idea of Britain joined the EEC which would provide a platform in allowing healthy economic growth. This can be shown as the current six members of the EEC clearly enjoyed economic growth with the removal of trade barriers among themselves (George 1992). He clearly saw this as an incentive to gain EEC membership. However, it is worth noting that this was more of an important issue for the application made in 1961 rather than the 1967 and 1973 applications (Wilkes 1997). Economic problems were also a main concern for both Wilson and Heath when they made their applications to join the EEC in 1967 and 1973. One of the main issues worth highlighting was; Britain having faced a balance of payments deficit and with pressure from France, had to ultimately resort to devaluing the pound in 1967 (Young 1993). A constant threat of unemployment and its stagnant economy has definitely put Britain in an unfavourable economic position. With regards to the slow British economic growth, Britain found a solution by forming an economic group in the form of EFTA (European Free Trade Association). This however did not help to promote much British trade, as Britain was seen as the largest market in the EFTA and other nations benefited more from the EFTA than Britain itself (Denman 1996). This shows that Britain was able to gain economic benefits by being part of Europe and ultimately led to the first formal application to join the EEC (Parr 2006). Moving on, Britain’s continued attempts to join the EEC can be further demonstrated as a positive effort.
This however faced an obstacle when Charles De Gaulle vetoed Macmillan’s application in 1963. During that time, De Gaulle felt that if Britain joined the EEC, it would affect France’s domination of the organisation and have an impact in Europe as well (George 1992). At the same time, Britain was backed by America in joining the EEC. To further explain this; Britain felt that if they joined the EEC and were able to trade with America at the same time; then they would be able to increase economic growth and be a world power status once again (George 1992). By that time, imperial preference with the Commonwealth had ended and Britain needed to seek out other alternatives in ensuring that they had other trading partners at hand. With the backing of America, Kennedy had envisioned that America were able to gain political and economic security and allow this to develop when Britain joined the EEC. America also wished for Britain to join the EEC to minimise the likelihood of another major war breaking out in Europe (Wilkes 1997). On the other hand, Britain also felt that by closer integration within Europe, they would be able to work intimately with other major European countries such as West Germany and France. Closer links within Europe would also provide added security for Britain, especially with the ongoing threats from the USSR and the East at that time (Denman 1996). In
short, the need and want for security is also another major factor in Britain applying to join the EEC.

Last but not least, it can be said that with Britain joining the EEC; it allowed them to pursue and adopt a more Europe-orientated policy (George 1994).
For instance, when Harold Wilson applied to join the EEC in 1967, he felt that economic growth and trade with the EFTA countries were developing at a slower pace than initially planned (George 1992). De Gaulle found that by allowing Britain to join the EEC, it would not benefit France and the other member nations and he stated that Britain’s entry would change the nature of the EEC and cause it to become more of a free trade area (Young 1993). Wilson then took the opportunity to reapply again for the second time on the 11th May 1967. It was looking more positive for Britain’s application at that time, as the other members of the EEC felt more receptive towards Britain’s entry into the EEC (Denman 1996). Wilson further pushed for full membership to be granted but De Gaulle was more in favour of Britain becoming an associate member. After De Gaulle’s fall from power in 1969, it opened a door of opportunity for Britain to apply and join the EEC but there were still some issues to be negotiated. When Edward Heath became Prime Minister in 1970, he was set on making another application and he felt that being a committed pro-European it would greatly boost Britain’s chances in gaining membership (George 1994). Heath strongly believes that by joining the EEC, it would bring prosperity to the country in many ways. As quoted by Heath,
‘Joining the EEC will enable us to be more efficient and more competitive in gaining more markets not only in Europe, but in the rest of the world’ (George 1992). Heath also personally held talks with the new French Prime Minister, George Pompidou to try and convince him that by letting Britain join the EEC it would be beneficial for all parties. With pro-European credentials to his name, Heath was successful in gaining Pompidou’s trust and this ultimately led to Britain’s membership to the EEC to be granted (George 1992). On 1st January 1973, Britain officially joined the EEC.